James Baroud leaking when closed

[rcarr86]

Hi folks! I acquired a used JB Off-Road Extreme Evo several months ago. Absolutely love the tent compared to previous soft sided RTT for setup time and fabric quality. However, after several hard rains/snow between the Bay Area and the Olympics up in WA I was greeted with the unfortunate discovery of water in the tent. Not just a bit of dampness but standing water in the corners, bedding soaked, and sides dripping.

I suspected the roof vent common on JBs to leak after a while. I took apart and re-sealed then tested with a water hose. No leaks during test. After the next rain, I opened the tent and checked around the vent. It was dry.

The water seems to be getting in under the lip of the tent or possibly through the zipper closures. I know these tents are supposed to be 4 season and bombproof so I am a bit perplexed and frustrated as I am slowly loosing confidence in my setup.

Has anyone experienced this before with this brand/style of tent?

Possible fixes?

 

[concretejungle]

I have never experienced a leak except for one horrible storm I was in. the wind was blowing around 45-50 mph directly from the side, and it drove the rain in through the velcro bottom of the door. that's it. I have seen the exhaust fan have signs of moisture, but usually that's showing in the roof insulation and not dripping down. The fix for that was either a new gasket for the fan or just silicon the fan completely, I opted for option two.

 

[rcarr86]

I have never experienced a leak except for one horrible storm I was in. the wind was blowing around 45-50 mph directly from the side, and it drove the rain in through the velcro bottom of the door. that's it. I have seen the exhaust fan have signs of moisture, but usually that's showing in the roof insulation and not dripping down. The fix for that was either a new gasket for the fan or just silicon the fan completely, I opted for option two.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I too opted for option two with the fan. No leaks noted in that area.

Hope to get this figured out soon and get re-mounted before the spring. Previous owner had drilled through holes in the bottom of the tent for mounting - don't ask why. Now with those plugged, I am hopeful that there will be no more water intrusion. Looking to raptor coat the shell in a few weeks.

 

[Tacopirate177]

Hi Rcarr, if you continue to have this problem I would reach out to James Baroud. I had an issue with our fan (it died) and reached out to them and Antonio was more than happy to help me our with the issue. He was very helpful, highly recommend emailing him if you're issue persist. His email is antonio@jamesbaroud.com.

 

[rcarr86]

Hi Rcarr, if you continue to have this problem I would reach out to James Baroud. I had an issue with our fan (it died) and reached out to them and Antonio was more than happy to help me our with the issue. He was very helpful, highly recommend emailing him if you're issue persist. His email is antonio@jamesbaroud.com.

Thanks for the point of contact.
I think I have identified where the leak was. Added some sealant around the metal trim (where the fabric is riveted on to the bottom shell) and will be testing soon. I was able to locate the sealant gap by spraying water directly at the front of the tent - just like water would be hitting it when driving down the road in a rainstorm - and had immediate water entry into the tent. This was further confirmed by light penetration test. Hopefully my fix works.